Our Last Hope
by DeathTheTeenageGirl
Summary: Blackthorne was born dead. Or so the doctors thought. Nineteen years later, she is joining with the Avengers against a new threat; animal/human hybrids. Will her harsh character, earned by growing up at SHIELD be softened by our 40's sweetheart? Steve/Oc
1. of Fire and Ice

**Chapter 1: of Fire and Ice**

Rubber-soled shoes padded softly against the smooth linoleum floor of S.H.E.I.L.D headquarters' hallways as Blackthorne slowly made her way to the conference room. She held an aura of calm around herself; the meeting wasn't due to start for another ten minutes, and Blackthorne knew these hallways well enough that she would be able to navigate them blindfolded and walking backwards.

She trailed her fingers lightly across the level, blemish-free wall, enjoying the feeling of the cold metal against her heated fingertips. It was not often she was able to take her time doing things; being an agent, and growing up in the constant hustle-bustle of a secret spy facility left little down time.

Her short time of peace was soon over, sadly, as she reached the thick door marked only with a small plaque that told passerby it was the 'conference room'. Unhurriedly, she edged heavy door open just enough to allow her lithe form to slip through, pulling the door up on its hinges by the knob to ensure it would not squeak. Old habits die hard.

"Agent Mathers," A rough baritone voice, the voice of Nick Fury, who waited for her, his hands clasped together, intoned from behind the farthest end of a huge, round oak table that occupied most of the room. "You're late."

Blackthorne tucked a stray strand of her red-gold hair behind a pointed ear, adjusting her ornamental glasses in the same movement. "I'm not late," She said matter-of-factly, pointing down at the small golden watch that adorned her wrist. She still had six minutes. "You're all early."

"Details," Fury grumbled, waving a hand to dismiss this comment. "Didn't Colson tell you that agents should always be twenty minutes early for a meeting?"

Blackthorne hid her flinch well, but she could tell from the look in Fury's eyes that he had seen it. Her adoptive father's death still stung. "Of course he did, Sir."

"Then remember it." Fury said, turning his gaze away from her and towards the six people that accompanied him at the table. "This, gentlemen," He paused, looking pointedly at the only other female in the room, a red-haired, ample-figured woman sitting three people from Fury's right, "and lady, is our last hope in fighting our newest enemy."

"Aaaaaand," An impish looking man sitting directly to Fury's left drawled, stroking a hand over his small goatee, "Why is that? She looks like an elf that decided to play librarian."

Fury glared at him, but before he could open his mouth to reprimand the man, Blackthorne interrupted him by chuckling coldly.

"Mr. Stark, I presume?" She said. Not waiting for him to answer, Blackthorne stalked over to the table, leaning between Natasha and a sandy-blonde man in a button-up shirt to get closer to him. She stuck her hand out in front of him, letting her fingers dance tantalizingly. "I assure you," she said confidently, "that I am nothing like a librarian."

And, with a snap of her fingers, called forth a massive tongue that raced from her hand towards Tony, stopping just short of his pointed nose.

"Holy shi-!" Tony jumped, pulling his face back. The flame jumped, almost as if it was laughing at him, before lazily swirling its way back to Blackthorne's open palm. She let it condense itself into a small ball, around the size of a tennis ball, before making her way to the seat that had been left open for her. The man she sat beside finger one of the many arrows in his quiver almost anxiously.

Fury cleared his throat audibly, and Blackthorne reluctantly closed her fist over the flame, dousing it and instantly missing the warmth. But it was true that tossing a fireball between her hands for the duration of the meeting could… distract some of the other members.

Tony pursed his lips, thinking. After a few moments and several strokes of the beard, he spoke. "I like her."

"Good," Fury answered bluntly, "Now will you let me finish?" Stark nodded distractedly.

"This is agent Mathers. Blackthorne Mathers." He said, standing up from his chair to circle in behind Blackthorne. "Raised here since the day she was born." A few members of the table muttered incomprehensibly. It was surprising to many that a child could be raised in such a hostile environment. "When Blackthorne was born, the doctors told her mother she was dead. Which is reasonable, considering she wasn't breathing, and her heart wasn't beating." A small, questioning murmur ran its way through the crowd, but Fury continued on, "Phil Coulson, who was working undercover in the Hospital, found her later that day, in a bed that was on fire. And inside of those flames was Blackthorne; completely unaffected by the flames and definitely not dead. Coulson brought her back to S.H.E.I.L.D on a whim, and has- had been raising and training to be S.H.E.I.L.D's best agent ever since."

Fury paused to test the reaction of the group. They all glanced at each other, pairs of them leaning towards each other to discuss this piece of information. All of them, that is except for one; the sandy-blonde man whom she had leaned over the table next to for her little 'demonstration'. He sat with his legs crossed at the ankles, one cheek leaning on the palm of his hand, and he watched Blackthorne. Really watched her. His dazzling blue eyes darted back and forth as he observed her twisting her long hair into various small braids, a nervous habit of hers. Blackthorne was not one to get nervous, especially with the levels of training she had and the amount of experiments that had been performed on her, but there was something in the way this man, whom she recognized from the many pictures Coulson had posted around the residence he had raised Blackthorne in, chewed on his lower lip absently that made her stomach do odd things. Things she wasn't quite sure were good or bad.

"So, this girl," Dr. Bruce Banner piped up, startling both Blackthorne and Steve out of their thoughts, the latter of which realized what he had been doing, and spring straight up in his seat, blushing and glancing up at the girl in front of him underneath his eyelashes. "has some kind power over fire?"

"Not just fire," Said Fury, nodding knowingly at Blackthorne. "Why don't you show them?"

Blackthorne nodded. This was something she knew would calm her. She moved into position, the farthest away from the table she could get in the small room. She stood for a few moments, feet spread shoulder-width apart, taking time to soothe her nerves with a few deep breaths before drawing upon her powers.

She always found it hard to describe what exactly she did when using her power. It was almost like, within her upper abdomen, just beneath her ribcage, rested a ball of power- she has always imagined it as a sort of royal purple colour- and, by focusing all of her will on that spot, Blackthorne could manipulate the ball of energy. Focusing her mind, Blackthorne imagined a tendril stretching out from the energy, splitting into two strands at the base of her neck, and making their way up through the energy canals of her arms. She focused the energy in the palm of her right imagined twisting the air above her hand with her mind. Within seconds, a small tornado had started, and a few of the less composed members of the room could be heard sucking a lungful of air in between their teeth. Blackthorne smiled deviously, letting her emotions have a rare appearance. She always enjoyed the reactions people had when they first saw her powers.

She twirled her left hand in a complicated dance of fingertips and wrist movements, and the water that had rested in a cup Dr. Banner had been about to take a drink from sprang into the air, a few droplets rushing into the back of his throat. As the doctor choked in surprise and Stark snorted in laughter, the water rushed over the heads of the Avengers, not a drop slipping from the sphere of water while it also made its way to hover over Blackthorne's hand.

The girl sent a rush of her purple energy down her left leg, balancing on her right as she kicked the other outwards. Within moments, her soft running shoes were covered in a layer of dirt that formed a protective armor, hiding her shoe from sight completely.

And, for her grand finale, she took in an unnecessary, deep breath, and called upon her most natural element; fire. Letting the air rush out of her body, she laced it with strings of fire- enough to be visible, but not do much as to be in danger of lighting the room on fire.

She let the elements stick to her for a few moments, so the viewers would have time to inspect each of them, before cutting off her fire breathing with a snap of her jaw, and returning each of the other elements to their previous places in rapid succession.

There was a silence, a long, dreadful silence in which every occupant of the room stared intently at the girl in front of them before Steve spoke up for the first time during the meeting.

"She can control each of the elements." He said, an odd look on his handsome face.

And, of course, Stark had to pipe up with a sarcastic, "Didn't I see a television cartoon like that once?"

**A/N: Thanks to DIVIDED-LEGION for beta-ing this story! I've almost gotten the next chapter of this written, so that'll be up soon. Reviews are appreciated!**


	2. Fluffy

Chapter 2

Blackthorne lay on her stomach atop the thin summer sheets that covered her futon, her chin propped up by an open hand. Small puffs of fire wound themselves through the fingers of her free hand, releasing tiny wisps of smoke.

It was late at night, with the first meeting finished long ago, but as per usual, sleep evaded Blackthorne. This time, however, wasn't because of her almost self-induced insomnia that plauged her constantly.

The last bit of the meeting was replaying itself through her brain; unbidden, unwanted. One simple question, posed because of Stark's curiosity.

_"I have a question." Stark had announced after Blackthorne had dispelled her elements. "You said before that you weren't a librarian," He said, addressing the girl before him directly. "But you never denied being an elf. Is she an elf?" He turned his seat to look at Fury._

_Fury cleared his throat, taking his time to choose his words carefully. "We're... Not exactly sure." he said, waving a hand to silence the questions of the Avengers. "Her abilities are far beyond that of a normal human, as you saw. The information her birth mother used to check into the hospital was all fake, and she disappeared from her hospital room when the staff left to bring her dead child to Coulson. She was never seen again. As far as we know, Blackthorne could be any race."_

Blackthorne launched herself off of her bed nimbly and padded over to the small mirror that had been bolted into the wall of her bedroom above a small vanity. Silently, she traced her fingers over her defining features; those that stood her apart from the rest of humanity. Her pointed ears, resembling those of the elves of legend. Her slanted eyes, the small slits of pupils that reminded many people of a cat, hidden behind the frames that she wore just for show. Lastly, there was her hair: bright red and woven , which fell in thick, curved tendrils. Much akin to the fire that she wielded.

She gripped the edge of the vanity, her knuckles turning white. Through her mind ran one of the questions Blackthorne obsessed over most: what exactly was she?

"The problem that we're dealing with requires more than brute force." Fury said sharply as each Avenger, including the newest member, took their seats around the table. Behind him, a panel of the wall opened, partially revealing a snarling, huge mass of fur contained inside of some kind of cage not unlike the one Loki had been held in. It growled at the new people, launching itself at the glass again and again, the large tusks growing out of its mouth glancing off the smooth glass. It looked like a gruesome mix between Saber-toothed tiger, with its tusks, a swordfish, with its elongated, deadly sharp nose, the torso and limbs of a tiger, and a human's hands and feet Blackthorne silently choked back a bit of bile. The thing looked utterly repulsive.

"It reminds me of my dog." Stark's voice, laced thickly with sarcasm, intoned from behind her.

"I call it fluffy." Fury told them, moving next to the glass, unflinching as the monster hurled itself at the barrier next to him. "It is one of many. As you know," He said, glancing back at the group of onlookers for a moment. "Hordes of them have been appearing all over America. Numerous teams consisting of the best soldiers our army had ever seen have gone out to attempt to destroy them, and none returned. This tape recording is all of the information we've been able to gather." Fury clicked a button in the remote that he was holding, and a tape-recorded that Blackthorne hadn't noticed resting in the center of the table sprang to life.

"They don't stop coming!" the hoarse voice of a man, barely intelligible over radio fuzz and the sounds of a battle raging behind him. "Every time we kill a hoard, two more arrive! My men are weakening, and we can't hold out for much longer. I can hear death coming, and it won't be coming in our favor. Tell my wife-" The tape ended abruptly, and the room went quiet. Blackthorne glanced around at the puzzled expressions on her new team-mate's faces

"That was Sargent Moare's squadron. We lost all contact with them three days ago" Fury said, his baritone voice somber.

"Every time we kill a hoard… two more take its place…" Steve mumbled, his denim-blue eyes staring unseeingly at the table.

"What exactly are they?" Hawkeye asked, rolling a plain arrowhead between his pointer and middle finger.

"Why don't you find out?" Fury responded, "Tomorrow morning, I'm sending you people to the southernmost part of Nevada, where a hoard of these monsters, twice the size of any other that we've seen has been reported. Go pack up. Except," he paused, "Steve, Thorne and Bruce. I need to have a word with you three."


	3. When Monsters Attack

Chapter 3

Fury waited until the remaining Avengers filed their way out of the room before speaking them. "I'll cut to the chase," he said, holding up a hand when Bruce opened his mouth to talk. "I want you two," he pointed at Steve and Blackthorne, "To guard Dr. Banner."

Bruce leaped out of his chair instantly, his eyes blazing. Blackthorne, knowing very well what he was capable of, instinctivly took up a more defensive stance in her chair, getting ready to protect herself and Fury. Bruce seemed to sense what she was doing, and with a very obvious effort, he settled himself back down into the arm chair, the fire in his eyes claming slightly. "Fury..." he said, his tone carefully neutral, "You and I both know I don't need babysitters."

Fury looked steadily at the man. "I am well aware, Dr. Banner. But you do need guards." He held up a finger, cutting off the remark Bruce hadn't been able to make. "The reason I'm sending you out there is to study these creatures, Bruce. Don't you think that would be easier without having to fend them off every second?" He asked, tilting his head condescendingly.

Bruce chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before grudgingly muttering a small "Yes."

"Good. The I'll ask you to accept help when it is offered." Said Fury tersely. "Does anyone else have any objections?" he asked sarcastically, and was rewarded with a short shake of the head by Thorne, and an assertive "Of course not, sir" from Steve. "Now go get packed. Your flight leaves in two hours."

* * *

"Wait!" Steve called from behind Blackthorne, who had left the meeting room before him. She swiveled around quickly to face him, subconsciously twisting her feet in a way that would give her the best advantage under an attack. Steve didn't miss this. "Hey, don't worry," he said, holding his hands up to show his lack of weapons. "I'm not here to pick a fight." he assured her, and stayed in this position until Blackthorne relented, dropping her defensive position and relaxing her tense muscles.

"My name's Steve." He said bluntly, dropping one hand and holding the other out straight. Blackthorne brought her own hand up to join it, gripping his hand in a firm handshake that made Steve raise his eyebrows in respect. "It's a pleasure to be working with you Miss..."

"Thorne." She filled in for him, a bit too quickly, becuase the feeling of his calluosed plam on her own made the blood rush to her cheeks without Blackthorne's permission. "You can call me Thorne."

Steve smiled broadly, and his blindingly white teeth sparkled in the harsh light of the hallway. "Very well. Miss Thorne it is." he glanced down at the watch on his wrist, and released his warm grip on Thorne's hand, turning up one edge of his mouth in a rueful smile "I'd better be going, Miss. I suppose I'll see you on the plane. Save me a seat!" he called, jogging lightly down the hallway with a half salute backwards, and not looking back to see a slightly confused Blackthorne still holding a hand out awkwardly in front of her.

* * *

Two hours and one duffle-bag stuffed with odds and ends later, Blackthorne sat strapped to one of the high-backed takeoff seats near the mouth of the small jet plane S.H.E.I.L.D was using to bring the Avengers to Nevada, with Natasha on one side and Steve on the other.

Steve had taken the trouble of personally introducing Blackthorne to each member of her new team, which was useless, because she already knew who each of them were, and they knew who she was. For some odd reason, however, Blackthorne went along with it. She liked watching Steve talk to people: his somewhat naive optimism intrigued her. She had been surrounded by cynics and people who just didn't have enough time to be happy (with the exception of Coulson, obviously), and seeing him having fun almost made her want to smile.

Now, as she sat beside him while the plane flew, he chatted to her on and off about his adventures: both of the past and present. Stark, who sat across from Steve, was already dressed in his suit, and would occasionally add in the odd snide comment or a rare, useful insight to Steve's tales. It had taken a while, but between the two of them, they had managed to persuade Thorne to talk about herself.

She had started off by telling them her earliest memories; the rigorous training the officials of S.H.E.I.L.D started putting her through as soon as she could string coherent sentences together. Six hours of mental training with the world's brightest tutors, seven hours of physical training with S.H.E.I.L.D's greatest officers that had absolutely no mercy. But the time Thorne had turned eight, she was skilled enough to defeat five of S.H.E.I.L.D's highly trained middle-aged agents, and was awarded with the title of agent by age nine.

What Thorne didn't include was her childhood emotions. It hadn't been a very loving environment, growing up in a secret agent military base, but Coulson, who had volunteered to house Thorne while she matured, had done everything in his power to make sure she knew she was loved. He was every bit the father she never had, even if she was aware she had no blood relation. Coulson had raised her like his own daughter: he gave her anything she wanted, read her bedtime stories, and kissed her bruises better. He had always told her that it was alright to make mistakes, and that fear was natural.

But she had never listened.

By the time Thorne was thirteen, she moved away from the three room compound S.H.E.I.L.D had given the pair, and into her own residence. It was just down the hall, and Coulson visited regularly, but while she stayed there, Thorne grew distant. The mantra's of her personal trainers, always something along the lines of _no fear,_ and _don' let your emotions get in the way_, now without Coulson to tell her that they were wrong, and emotions were important, dug their way into Thorne's brain. She no longer visited Coulson of her own accord, and she developed her 'mask', careful not to let any emotion show through, and eventually, she had begun to shut herself off from the world, focusing more and more on training, and increasingly less time spent with actalu people.

Thorne skipped over this, and told Steve and Tony, who were listening with rapt attention, about her first missions. Her quick thinking and high level of training made her invaluable in a battle, and several of S.H.E.I.L.D's agents would refuse to go on the most dangerous missions without including Thorne.

So many terrorists and evil masterminds had fallen beneath Thorne's hands that she had stopped counting, and had started to wish she could forget. Even with the training she had had for so long that it was ingrained into her very being, she didn't want to kill. But one does not simply disobey orders from S.H.E.I.L.D.

Steve and Tony were both intrigued as she attempted to tell them how she tapped into her powers. When Tony asked her if she could teach them how to control the elements, she had regretfully told him that every person, no matter how smart or willful, that S.H.E.I.L.D had given her to train had failed horribly.

Tony clicked his tongue, looking thoughtfully at nothing in particular. "That sucks." He said simply, eliciting a small Bruce, who had apparently been listening in.

Tony swiveled around in his seat, probably to make a snide comment about eavesdroppers, but was interrupted by the sound of thick glass cracking. Instinctively, Thorne curled in on herself, covering her head with her arms just as knife-sharp shards of glass hurled themselves around the interior of the jet, one particularly large piece lodging itself in the back of the seat where Thorne's head had just been.

And from the window that had just broken stepped a mutant, almost exactly like the one Fury had shown them, but complete with a massive pair of eagle wings.

Tony was the first to react, unbuckling himself and pulling a shard of glass from between hinges of his suit calmly. "Well, shit."

The team's reactions were instantaneous. Clint leapt out of his seat, bow in hand and arrow notched. Natasha did a drop-and-roll out of her seat, shooting a few bullets in rapid succession into the monster's legs. Thor and Stark advanced on the monster as one, hammer swinging and gloves glowing. Blackthorne and Steve positioned themselves between Bruce and the enemy, Steve with his shield at the ready and Blackthorne with her own shield, comprised of the water she carried in a special flask that rested against her hip.

Two arrows sprouted from the monster's chest before it even had the chance to advance. Green ichor flew from the wounds, and where it fell, parts of the floor dissolved, and steam rose from where it touched Steve's shield.

"Don't let the blood touch you!" Hawkeye shouted, wiping a steaming lump of the foul substance off his own cheek.

"Yeah, we got that." Tony replied sarcastically as the face mask on his suit slid downwards.

Before them, the mutant had begun to move. One of the few only human parts of it, the grotesque hand that seemed oddly delicate attached to the hulking muscles of the lion, tugged the arrows from its chest unhurriedly, not even showing any signs of pain as it dragged the titanium shafts from its body with sick sucking sounds echoing inside the walls of the jet.

With a sound of disgust, Tony threw himself at the mutant, tackling it and using the momentum to push it out of the aircraft. The sound of metal on flesh resounded through the chamber as the creature, now finally realizing the danger, latched desperately onto Tony dragged him out of the aircraft with it.

Steve let out a strangled cry. "Stark!" He yelled, looking between the gaping hole in the side of the jet and Bruce, torn between helping one friend and protecting the other.

Thorne nodded at the man, catching his attention. "You go," She said curtly, tilting her head towards the hole. "I can manage over here." Steve gave her a relieved look, and ran headfirst out of the hole, stopping briefly to grab a parachute as Thorne willed more water out of her flask, extending the water-barrier to completely surround both herself and Bruce.

**A/N: Thanks to all those who add this story to alert/favourite! And, as always, a big thank you to DIVIDED-LEGION! **

**I do not own Avengers**

**Questions, comments, concerns?**


	4. Insecurities and Capsizing Planes

Steve landed heavily on the armoured wing of the fighter jet, his large army boots clanging against the metal loudly. Scrambling ungracefully for a handhold on the smooth metal, Steve found himself hoping offhandedly that Thorne, as she had introduced herself, wasn't watching. Later, he would berate himself for ever thinking that she would care, let alone see, his unattractive, awkward movements, but at the moment, he just prayed to whatever God was listening that the girl who moved with such grace and fluidity was otherwise preoccupied.

Shaking his head to bring himself back on task, Steve latched one hand onto a loose piece of metal, pulling himself onto the top of the wing with one hand, and latching onto the opposite side of the wing with the other. Just a few feet in front of him, as if by some miracle, Tony had landed and was wrestling the mutant that had dragged him out of the plane just moments before into a headlock, holding its huge, thrashing body down with an obviously great effort. Slowly, cautiously, Steve worked his way down the wing, straddling it. When he reached Tony, Steve caught onto the lion's legs that were flaying desperately. Tony, sensing the movement, or lack thereof, glanced backwards. Even through the thin eye slits of Tony's mask, they made eye-contact, an unspoken understanding passing in-between them. Tony flipped off from on top of the creature and as one, they lifted it –so surprisingly heavy that even Steve had trouble- tossing its limp form over the edge of the wing and watching, soundlessly, as the figure receded rapidly beneath them.

The pair of heroes barely had the time to look at each other with triumph-filled eyes before and explosion just off to their right sent both of them teetering off the edge of the wing and into the dark abyss of the night sky.

* * *

Thorne knew better than to be concerned when Steve leapt out the gaping hole in the wall; any soldier as experienced as he knew what their body could do.

She was, however, slightly concerned about the four mutants that stepped into the place Steve had just vacated. Unconsciously, tongues of her flames began licking the bottoms of the specially made boots. Thorne had been left in nothing other than a charred, crispy bodysuit enough times to learn her lesson, and now stuck to wearing her custom-made flame-resistant suit at all times.

Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow all confronted one of the beasts; Thor beating his opponent black and blue with large swings of his hammer, and the two master assassins managing somewhat worse, having to avoid the vibrant green ichor that sprouted from any wound they managed to place on the enraged beasts.

The one mutant that was left without a fighting partner soon spotted Thorne and Dr. Banner, making its way across the small expanse of the jet.

"Stay behind me." Thorne ordered. She could sense Bruce begining to argue, but she twisted her head around for a moment, giving him a glare that rivaled Fury. "We don't need a Hulk here, Dr. Banner." Bruce snapped his jaw shut, clearly relenting, and Thorne snapped her attention back to the creature that now prowled only a few feet away from her water-barrier.

The beast, somehow recognizing that its window for attack was small, chose to lunge at Blackthorne in that moment, its long nose scraping against the liquid shield between itself and its enemy. Letting her instincts guide her, Thorne hardened the water into inch-thick sheets of ice in the exact places the beast attempted to lunge through, letting the ice drop back into liquid form as soon as the mutant pulled its sword-like nose back. It squealed as its legs gave out from underneath itself, the sudden gust of wind that Thorne had willed to attack it doing its job. She sent another gust of wind at the creature, pinning it where it lay on the ground, smashing its chest against the unforgiving metal of the jet. The mutant let out an inhuman shriek, thrashing the grotesque human hands as close to Thorne as possible, tearing at the invisible force that kept it there. Thorne grimaced in pity; the creatures may be brutal, but the human resemblance and intelligence that was clear in the depths of the creature's pale blue eyes to remind her of some of the biggest experimental monsters she had encountered on her missions. In a rare act of compassion, Thorne let a portion of the water shielding herself drop onto the mutant, freezing the liquid to form a thick, smooth cage over it and leaving herself without a shield in the process.

Straightening up from her defensive position, Thorne surveyed her surroundings. Clint and Natasha had already finished their enemies, who now lay in quivering lumps of disgusting flesh that she cared not to look at too long. Thor was still beating at his enemy, fists and hammer flying everywhere. He backed the creature towards the opening of the hole almost unconsciously. They were a few feet away from it, and with the suction from the air rushing past and the force of Thor's hammer combined, the creature flew backwards, its human hands grasping desperately at the jagged metal surrounding the hole for a split second before its strength gave out. The wind pulled it from the opening, and for a moment, Thorne was actually relieved.

But then, its momentum carried it directly into the left engine, crashing through it with a large explosion that left bright spots in Thorne's vision, rocking the plane in mid-air and throwing Steve and Tony out into the night.

* * *

The only things Steve saw in the next few moments were darkness, the occasional flashing blue light that showed him Tony's whereabouts, and his own limbs, flailing uncontrollably in front of his eyes, useless. There was one thing that Steve had been aware of in that next minute, and it was that he probably was not going to survive the fall. Tony, maybe, in his 'all-powerful- suit. But for all Steve was strong, even his bones would not be able to take falling from this height.

And then, there was a flash of hope. Still precariously strapped onto his back was the parachute he had wisely grabbed on his way out of the plane. Maybe it was not too late; if he could grab hold of that string, the parachute would save him. Floundering his arms in the swift wind, Steve grabbed hold of the small string that could save his life, and tugged on it, waiting to hear the sound of canvas unfurling and feel the jerk of the wind catching and carrying him to safety… but it never came. Because in his hand, was the parachute string, snapped off at the base from where Steve had pulled it too roughly.

And, as he now plummeted towards his death for the second time in his odd life, one random thought raced through his panicked mind: _I never got my dance._

* * *

The plane, unbalanced from its lack of one engine, teetered to the right, sending its inhabitants crashing onto the side, and the creature Thorne had trapped in an icy cage smashed hard against is confines. Thorne covered her face with her arms as green ichor vaulted through the air, wishing for her water shield but knowing that it was more important Bruce was protected.

The plane righted position slightly as the pilot regained control, but it was still falling. Fast.

Sliding from the side of the plane back onto the ground, Thorne raced through the possibilities in her head. The plane was missing an engine, the one person who could _really_ fly in their group had been thrown off the wing, and they were going to be landing soon. It definitely wouldn't be a pretty landing.

Off to the side. Thorne saw the two master assassins piled on top of each other in one corner of the plane, unconscious. Bruce had managed to strap himself back onto a chair, his fight or flight instinct pushing against his will. He was gripping the armrests of his chair until his knuckles went white, his skin slowly starting to turn slightly green, and Thorne knew they were short on time.

"Doctor!" She called, waving her arms to get his attention. "Doctor Banner!" He snapped his head towards her frighteningly fast, and if it had been anyone other than Thorne, she would've screamed: the usual brilliant brown of his eyes dripping with emerald green already. Thorne made way over to Bruce slowly, her arms outstretched to show her lack of weapons. "Doctor Banner," she began again, her tone calm and soothing, "We need you right now. They-" She pointed behind herself at where Clint and Natasha lay, motionless "need you. If we leave them there, the ichor will burn through their clothing, and probably their skin. If we don't do something soon, they'll die." She was next to him now, her warm fingers lying atop his white-knuckled ones. "They'll die, Bruce." She repeated. After a few moments, and with a substantial amount of relief, she saw the green trickle out of his irises, and the painful grimace on his face relax slowly. After a minute, Bruce nodded, unbuckling the straps holding him to the chair. Thorne's water shield following him, Bruce made his way to the pair of assassins shakily, brushing bits of green ichor off the unconscious bodies of his friends.

After looking around to confirm Thor was not aboard the plane- he must've fallen out of the hole when the aircraft capsized- Thorne followed the doctor, patting him on the arm to gain his momentary attention. "Doctor Banner," she said quietly, "I'm going to seal the hole of the plane. No mutants will disturb you, but I'm going to have to use the water from your shield." Bruce nodded his approval, waiting for Thorn to continue. "And I'm going to stop the plane from falling."

Bruce looked up at her fully, twisting his body to face her. "And how do you plan on doing that?" He asked.

"I'm not exactly sure."

And that was all Thorne said as she stepped out of the hole in the plane, freezing Doctor Banner's shield over the opening, and hurtling downwards into empty space.

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this next chapter up guys. A multitude of things all happened at once, and it took me a while to get the time to finish this.**

**Thanks to all my readers, and to DIVIDED-LEGION for beta-ing!**


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